Turning 13 years old

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Finally. This day has finally arrived!

I am thirteen years old, and today is the day of the Knights School entrance ceremony.

“Next is a word from the freshman representative, Serafiona Granzeus.”

“Yes!”

I am the representative. First place in the entrance examination. I move to the stage with calm steps. The uniform in this Knight school is a dark blue stand-up collared shirt. Girls also wear trousers instead of skirts. They are a simple set that emphasizes ease of movement. However, the school emphasizes discipline, and their discipline is very strict.

I am relieved at this uniform system. From now on, I will live alone in the dormitory. Choosing a dress myself every day would certainly be awkward and I have no desire to dress up fashionably. It comes with a four-sided batch to boot! Military banzai!

The school rules do not allow girls’ hair to be too fancy either. So I thought I should learn to maintain my hair. To practice, I went to the guild recently and turned Matt-san’s skinhead into a mohawk. He asked me to rethink where my skill lies and started crying. Please kill me!? He added. Just why?

Later, no matter whom I pointed my scissors to, they just shake their heads and are seemingly terrified. They muttered, the Demon King…… has a bloody shuriken…… or something incomprehensible and they fled with all their might.

I later practiced by having Lara-san teach me some kind of trendy braids styles that would not inhibit my movements even in martial arts classes. My hands are cramped after I actually braided my hair. It would be easier to just cut it, I thought to myself.

Standing on the stage, I see Papa with Lu on his knees, waving and smiling, to which I smiled back. When I look a bit more towards the guests seats, I find His Excellency General Avenger, who is with a teary and next to him is Grandmother…… with a prim and proper face……

In today’s entrance ceremony, there is only one parent’s seat per student, so Father and Grandmother were fighting over it, but Grandmother withdrew easily in the end… or so was how things went! Trundle’s Arts has been overwhelmed… Well, Grandmother is in the guest’s seat, and her face seems rotten sometimes? The staff members already know who is backing me……

Tension? Can’t have that. Arafō! Arafō! It’s not like I’ll get fired from my company, and I won’t die because of this. Compared to the ‘crazy faces group’ in our guild, anyone else here looks great, even cute.

(TN: Arafō – A woman in her 40s)

“…I pledge to continue to keep striving towards excellence. Freshman representative, 1st year Class 1, Serafiona Granzeus.”

Yes, I did well!

When the ceremony is over, the parents return. I will be living in a dormitory from today, but vacations are not as tight as in the Magic Academy. Half of the Knight School students are ordinary people, and each has to help their family’s occupation, whether they are merchants or farmers. And thus, I will return home every weekend, show myself in the territory and the guild, and improve my skills. That’s why I can easily separate from Father and Grandmother with a light ‘bye by―e’. Lu has gone on a campus exploration. If he gets hungry, he will come back to my dorm room.

The freshmen went to their classrooms with a -para- -para- -para-. There are 50 first-year students, divided as 25 students in two classes. I am in Class 1. I step into a room full of people I do not know before. My heart is pounding.

When I entered the classroom through the opened rear-door, the air suddenly changed. Even though we just entered today, the others somehow already have groups! Everyone seems to be brimming when one announced his/her results? Oh crap, I am late… I’ll talk to a group near the entrance for the time being.

“Umm, are the seats fixed?”

“…………”

Ignored. Hmm, what just happened?

“Oh, you are so small, go to the front, or else you won’t be able to see the blackboard, right? Hahahaha!”

A boy from another boys group suddenly raised his voice.

…Well, that’s right. I walked past them and sat at the very front, near the window.

Looking outside, Lu is happily chasing a bird. Did he lose his mind?

I’m calm…

Lu and I had been working hard to diverge greatly from the book of prophecy and ended up entering this Knight School. Once I’ve entered a Knight School, it would be almost impossible to return on the Magic School route.

The new semester of the Magic Academy should begin at the same time. The timeline of <Wild Rose You> has started. According to Father’s information network, Maribelle was happy to have entered the Magic Academy as a scholarship student. To have done that terrible thing on Trundle, surely those magicians…

I think I can feel my intestines squirm when I think back about it, so I quickly switch my thoughts. For the time being, the opportunity for me and Maribelle’s life crossing is delayed until quite far off in the future.

In the end, the reason I insisted so stubbornly to enter the Knight School is because, 1. I will be far away from Maribelle, and 2. I can stay with my loved ones. The next time I meet Maribelle in this life, I will leave the country immediately. Across the sea, far far away. It is the decision me, Lu and Father had made. To live alone as an adventurer in a land where nobody knows me. As long as I am alive, a time when I can meet Father and Lou and… Older Brother and Grandmother, will surely come again.

I am on my elbow and watching Lu play around…… and yawning…… sleepy……

“…! ……! Oi―!”

Huh! How terrible! I was dozing off for a moment! I panicked at the call from right next to me. Who’s it, I’mma check out.

Standing there is a boy of the same age, whose body is quite large for our age, tanned, and with orange hair that is cut short, and when our eyes met, his brown eyes rounded.

“Hey, are you crying?”

“No?”

“Darn… hey! You!”

The boy suddenly shouted towards the back of the class.

“Were you jealous, you guys! If you wanna complain, I’ll be your opponent. Defeat me and get to her. Is that clear?”

After saying so, he sat down next to me. Ummm, somehow, someone just stood up for me, it seems

“Um, thank you. But, were you worried about me? I can take care of myself.”

“You’re strong so you passed. I’m also strong enough that I got admitted despite losing. Having strength and this… they’re totally different matters. You really were teary.”

No…… I was yawning…?

“…………”

I stared at him silently. The boy blushes.

“No matter how strong you are… you’re still a girl.”

Did he say he lost? Lost? And I won? Passed? Oh!

“You’re, the practical test! The one who lost after using the sun.”

-gon- the boy banged his head at the desk.

“I did use the sun! But… I know how sneakily I had been fighting. When I enrolled, I wanted to apologize for that time. I am Nicholas, call me Nick. I am ashamed I did that… To a girl no less. After passing, I explained the details of the match and was beaten by the master in the dojo I attended.”

Huh? Was that sneaky? It was kindergarten level. He is a nice guy―!

“I don’t really mind. I am Serafiona. If it’s too long, you cut it short to Serafi…”

“You’re a noble, must I call you in such a familiar way?”

“Well, I am called by that at the guild?”

“You have already registered at a guild?”

“Yes, I even have cash!”

“C-cash… yes, there used to be stories about poor nobles… is the guild the one in the Royal Capital?”

“Oh, it’s not the Royal Capital. It’s a little farther away, in Trundle.”

-zawazawazawa-!!!

Murmurs arose from everyone. They were all listening. Well, it seems the students know of Trundle.

“T-Trundle? Your title would be meaningless there. You really call each other equally regardless of you being a noble……? I really admire that. Then, I too will call you Serafi. Someday, I will enter that circle.”

“?? I’m not sure what you meant but, okay!! Thank you! Nick!”

Serafiona became friends with Nick!

A ball pops in my head, and the melody that used to play when one got a new friend in a certain popular RPG game rings in my head.

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TN: Please support me on https://www.patreon.com/TlukLoh or https://paypal.me/tlukloh.

Thank you very much to my patrons 『Lan Hoang』 and 『Isabell Zultner』  (ӦｖӦ｡)

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